As it is newly midnight in Jerusalem we found ourselves talking about Argentina. The Archbishop here for the pilgrimage from the Armenian Church shared a story about Pope Francis his friend and fellow clergy in South America. "The Pope is a very humble man." He didn't want to be elected Pope my new friend tells me because he didn't want to be center stage with all the attention focused on him; a story the world now knows about the new Pope. "He called me on my cell one night when a terrible tragedy, a fire in a nightclub claimed the lives of 200 young people. He asked me to come and be with him to say a memorial mass because he didn't want to be alone. Family members were overwhelmed with grief carrying signs with the names of their loved ones. They would want to hold us and she'd tears with us. It was so very terrible. I had shared ecumenical prayers with him and he called me to share this mass."
This pilgrimage is about sharing stories and praying for unity and a spirit of ecumenism. There are so many differences in the hierarchies of the world's churches and in the faiths and traditions of each community of believers. The Archbishop says differences are good because they make a rainbow of beliefs each adding color to light the world. How to respect differences and avoid conflictive battles that have left deep scars on the psyche of so many believers if the goal of this conference. To pray for unity, ecumenism, peace, and love. Good morning. And good night from Jerusalem.
No comments:
Post a Comment